Summary or introduction of the movie "Catch-22"

Movie "Catch-22"

Title: Catch-22/Detachment 22

Starring: Alan A. King Martin Balsam Richard Benjamin

Director: Mike Nichols

Region: United States

Length: 98 minutes< /p>

Dubbing: English

Content:

Mike. A black anti-war comedy directed by Nichols. Description: During World War II, at a U.S. Air Force base stationed in the Mediterranean, many officers and soldiers tried to evade flight missions and obtain illegal wealth.

Yossarian lives in this bizarre world swirling around war monsters. He was the captain bomber of a squadron to which this flying group belonged. He entered the war with enthusiasm to save justice, made military exploits, and was promoted to captain. However, slowly, in the conflict with the dangerous environment around him, and after witnessing all kinds of false, absurd, crazy, and cruel phenomena, he realized that he had been deceived. He changed from seriousness to cynicism, from loving war to hating it. He doesn't want to get promoted or make a fortune, nor does he want to make unnecessary sacrifices. He just wants to go home alive. Seeing his companions die in batches, he felt very scared, and he was also afraid that the people around him would plot against him and kill him. He repeatedly told that "every one of them wanted to kill me." He is eager to save his life and is determined to escape from this "world". So he pretended to be ill and tried to spend the rest of the war in hospital, but failed. According to Catch-22, only lunatics can be allowed to fly, but they must apply for it themselves; at the same time, it is also stipulated that anyone who is aware of the dangers of flying and applies for exemption from flying is a sane person and should continue to fly. Task. Catch-22 also stipulates that pilots can return home after completing the number of flights specified by their superiors, but it also says that you must obey orders absolutely, otherwise you will not be allowed to return home. Therefore, superiors can continue to increase the number of flights for pilots, but you are not allowed to disobey. Repeatedly, never ending. Finally, Yossarian finally understood that Catch-22 turned out to be a scam, a trap, and an insurmountable obstacle. The world is governed by Catch-22 everywhere, like a dragnet from which you cannot escape. He believes that people in the world are using so-called "just acts" to gain plunder for themselves. Finally, he had to desert and flee to Sweden.

Adapted from Joseph Heller's famous novel, this is the most representative work in "black humor" literature. After its publication, it became a sensational bestseller in the European and American literary circles, and was praised by Western critics as One of the best novels of the 1960s, it has also become one of the classic works of contemporary American literature.

The movie uses a humorous and sarcastic approach to magnify an interesting caricature of human relationships. The story revolves around this catch-22. This is a military rule that cannot be broken. It is like a paradox in philosophy. It stipulates that no one can leave the army unless he is mentally ill. But can a mentally ill person ask to leave unless he is normal? , this is a trap...

The initial clip was shot very grandly, but the subsequent development was a bit confusing and loose, failing to penetrate the theme. However, there are many sequences that are well shot and not less than entertaining.

About the original work

Absurd riot: "Catch-22"

When talking about "black humor" novels, one must mention Heller's "Catch-22" is the most representative work in "black humor" literature. After its publication, it became a sensation in the European and American literary circles and became a best-seller. It was hailed by Western critics as the best novel of the 1960s. This novel has become one of the classic works of contemporary American literature.

"Catch-22" is a famous work by American writer Joseph Heller. It is based on the story of a U.S. Air Force flying group stationed on Pianozza Island during World War II. activity as theme. However, Heller did not describe the war in detail when writing this novel. He paid no attention to whether the war was just or not, or whether the two sides won or lost. With a feeling of deep disgust and even despair, he used war, a broad and chaotic stage, to express his subjective feelings of social absurdity and his personal situation and destiny in this society. The author does not hesitate to use shocking words that distort phenomena so that readers can't help but doubt the essence. He uses seemingly impossible words to represent things that may or actually happen, and reveals the essence of the real life he lives in from the negative side. The author outlines a bizarre and confusing world in front of us. In this world, all kinds of weird things keep happening, and all kinds of eccentric characters keep running around, performing scenes of fanciful human farce. Such as the absurd behavior of General Dreedle of the Flying Wing, General Peckham of the 27th Air Force Command, and others; the ambitious Second Lieutenant Scheskopf climbed up at all costs and finally became the lieutenant general commander; Daihatsu Wenjie, the food manager who made a fortune from the war; Netule, who spent all his black market income on soda ash whiskey and obscene pictures, and so on. Almost each of the above characters has a relatively independent story.

Their words are so unreasonable and their behavior is so bizarre. The world they form is indeed a crazy world, but it is not a "fantasy" without any basis in real life. Such a world described by Heller The crazy world is actually the social reality distorted and deformed by the writer's emotions. In this society, the justice, patriotism, truth, and bravery that have always been promoted have become lies and deception, while selfishness, greed, madness, and chaos have formed the inner bag of society.

Heller claimed that life is controlled by some inhuman force, and that this control force is constantly increasing. In order to explore this inhuman power, coupled with his deep-rooted sense of the absurdity of social reality, he tried his best to express a power that dominates human beings and the world based on specific things in his novels. The author wrote on the title page of the novel: "There is only one trap in this... and that is Catch-22"

What is Catch-22? What does it include? The novel answers this question with the ridiculous experience of the protagonist Yossarian. Yossarian hopes to return home, but Catch-22 stipulates that air force officers must complete the prescribed number of battles before they can return home. After flying 48 missions, he happily thought he could go home, but Private First Class Winterger corrected him and said, "No, you can't go back home," because Catch-22 stipulates that regardless of At all times, you must do what the commander orders you to do. Even if you are asked to fly after you have flown the prescribed number of times, you must still fly, otherwise you will commit the crime of disobeying your superior's order. According to Catch-22, all mentally disturbed personnel must apply personally to stop flying. If a person expresses concern for his own safety when facing real and imminent danger, it proves that he is not crazy. . This leads to the following logic: If you are crazy, you are allowed to stop flying, as long as you ask. But once you make a request, it proves that you are not crazy. This "military rule" that teases and tortures people is everywhere in the work, making it like a nightmare that people can't get rid of.

From this point of view, Catch-22 is something that does not exist but is omnipresent, an invisible force. Military regulations should be an iron system, a strict organizational discipline, with clear and specific instructions and precise normativeness. But Catch-22 is not like that. It is as volatile as floating clouds and as fleeting as dreams. It orders this and restricts that. It has countless contents and is effective in all fields. It has boundless magical power that transcends the old tricks of a deer and a horse. It can make arrogance appear fair, cruelty become justice, idiots become wisdom, and theft become honor. It is obvious that such a military regulation with supreme power and arbitrariness is a symbol of organized chaos and institutionalized madness. It is an authoritarian law that rationalizes illegality and crime. It is a concrete provision and an abstract reality. From a deeper philosophical level, Catch-22 symbolizes the existence of an ontology that governs the absurdity and madness of the world, and has metaphysical implications. Heller designed this "metaphysical" reality to be expressed on the stage of war, perhaps in order to make war's mandatory and life-and-death environment so that the absurdity that also dominates mankind in peacetime can be given an appropriate simile.

In Heller's writings, since reality has turned the spirit, morality, truth, civilization and other value standards upside down, the meaning of the concept of hero will inevitably undergo fundamental changes. There are no classical heroic images in "Catch-22", only some anti-heroes who have been distorted by modern society, such as Yossarian described in the novel.

The novel ends with Yossarian escaping in a rubber boat to the imaginary world of freedom - Sweden. Heller wanted to show that the only way to deal with this absurd real society is to escape. But can escape escape the Catch-22? I'm afraid not, because Catch-22 has become something fixed in modern human nature, so the better way to rescue it is probably to transform modern society to make modern human nature healthier.

Introduction to the original work · · · · · · ·

"Catch-22" is a representative work of American black humor literature and is known as a classic work of contemporary American literature.

Black humor appeared in the 1960s and is one of the most important literary genres in contemporary American literature. Writers in this genre highlight the absurdity of the world around their characters and the oppression of individuals by society. They use magnifying glasses and magnifying glasses to amplify, distort and deform this absurdity and oppression, making it more absurd, ridiculous, abnormal and unreasonable, ugly and abominable, which also embodies their helpless pessimism and pain. Therefore, some people call black humor "humor under the gallows" or "humor in times of disaster."

Although "Catch-22" is based on a flying group of the United States Air Force during World War II, it does not actually describe the war in detail. The gist of this book, as the author himself said, "In "Catch-22", I am not interested in war, I am interested in personal relationships in the bureaucratic power structure." The so-called " Catch-22,” doesn’t actually exist, that’s for sure, but it doesn’t help that everyone thinks it does.

This is even worse, because then there are no specific objects and provisions that can be ridiculed, refuted, accused, criticized, attacked, revised, hated, insulted, spurned, torn down, trampled on, or burned. "It is just a symbol of ubiquitous and omnipotent cruelty and tyranny, an inhumane bureaucracy, and a perverse force that teases and destroys people. Although it seems funny, it is also despairing and terrifying, and will make you forever There is no way to get rid of it, it is always right, you are always wrong, it is always reasonable, and you are always unreasonable. Heller believes that war is immoral and absurd, and can only create chaos, corrode people's hearts, and make people lose their dignity. , can only allow Cathcart, Sheskopf and others to achieve success, and Milo and others gain fame and fortune. In his view, war and bureaucracy are all caused by human beings and are problems of human beings themselves. The basis of his creation is humanitarianism, and he focuses on "organized chaos" and "institutionalized madness" in this book.

There are many characters in "Catch-22". However, most of them highlight a certain aspect of their character according to the author's ideas, even exaggerating it to the level of cartoons and animations, and some are symbolic. For example, Cathcart focuses on the tyranny and unreasonableness of the bureaucracy, and Milo focuses on it. Showing the profit-seeking of the bourgeoisie, Scheskopf focuses on the destruction of personality by military machines. Even the protagonist Yossarian in this book focuses on the awakening of his self-awareness. Yossarian is at the mercy of big shots. He is a "little man" who is a victim of an absurd society. He has compassion, a sense of right and wrong, and a sense of justice. He once pointed out angrily: "Just looking at it, I can see people desperately trying to make money. I can't see heaven, I can't see saints, I can't see angels. I just see people taking advantage of every righteous impulse and making money out of every human tragedy. "But in this crazy world, he was regarded as a madman because of his integrity and kindness. He felt deeply powerless in such a "world", and gradually realized that he could only choose a way to survive by himself, and finally Fleeing to Sweden, an idealized peaceful country, he completed the process of "heroization" and became an "anti-hero"

The reason why "Catch-22" became such a blockbuster. One of the important reasons why it has become a "classic work" is the author's innovation in artistic techniques. In this work, Heller abandoned the traditional techniques of realism and adopted an "anti-novel" narrative structure, which was intentional. He uses a scattered structure to show the absurdity and chaos of the real world he describes. He only uses narratives, conversations, and memories to connect events, plots, and characters. On the other hand, he uses his rich imagination to extremely deform events and characters. Each piece becomes abnormal, absurd, funny, and ridiculous, depicting absurd images that make readers laugh sadly, and make people ponder and think while crying and laughing. . The author also makes full use of symbolic means to convey his views on the world, life, and things, which contain profound philosophical thinking. As some commentators pointed out, this work "seems confusing, but it is actually full of philosophy. Because only highly rational people can fully notice the irrational components implicit in things. "The language in this book is also very rich, fully demonstrating the language characteristics of black humor literature. It uses a solemn tone to describe funny and grotesque things, uses gag words to express serious and profound philosophy, and uses humorous and sarcastic language to express heavy despair. The book tells tragic and painful events in a cold and joking tone. Of course, this book also has the shortcomings of seeking gimmicks and being complicated and lengthy.

About the author·······

Hai. Le (1923-1), a representative American writer of black humor, was born in a Jewish immigrant family in Brooklyn, New York City. He served as an Air Force lieutenant during the Second World War and went to college after the war. He graduated from New York University in 1948 and 1949. After receiving a master's degree in literature from the university, he received a Fulbright research grant to study at Oxford University in England for one year. From 1950 to 1952, he taught at Pennsylvania State University and other schools. After that, he left school and worked as an editor for magazines such as Time and Prospect. In 1961, the novel "Catch-22" came out and became famous. He gave up his post that year and devoted himself to writing.

Except for "Catch-22", Heller also published two novels: "Something Goes Wrong" (1974) and "As Good as Gold" (1979). The former reflects the depression and hesitation of American middle-class managers through their description of their daily lives. The latter uses a humorous and satirical style to depict a satirical picture of American political and social life through the life experience of a Jewish intellectual trying to get involved in officialdom. Heller has also written scripts, such as "We". "Bombing New Haven" and so on, but the impact is not great.

Heller's novels are based on real life. Through the magic mirror and magnifying glass of art, they reflect several aspects of American social life and have certain cognitive value. and aesthetic value. Of course, his works also contain some common problems of black humor literature, such as showing helplessness towards social reality.

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